₦airaland Forum

Icon4s:
Yes o my brother.

That Senegal 92 opener has my fondest memory of Keshi as a player.

That winner was a goal created by Keshi and scored by Keshi. For a defender to single handedly make his way pass the midfield and tore apart the defense and then releasing a thunderous shot. All just to redeem his image after letting Senegal equalise from I think Bukande.

I still remember the expression on his face as he celebrated that goal.

That jersey in the first pix I posted was what they wore in that tourney.

Then of course as a coach his team's heroics at the 2013 AFCON.

He is one of the greatest footballers and coaches that have emerged from Nigeria.

sweet memories

http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/06/07/eagles-training-game-ogu-steals-the-show-as-rohr-experiments-with-three-at-the-back/

Eagles Training Game – Ogu Steals The Show As Rohr Experiments With Three At The Back

All eyes was feasted on Hapoel Be’er Sheva midfield powerhouse John Ogu who for the second day lined up as a centre back in Training with the Super Eagles ahead of their clash against South Africa on Saturday.

The Eagles lined up with Rohr breaking up the near perfect central defence ‎partnership between Chidozie Awaziem and William Troost-Ekong in favour of a back three style of defence in the practice game that ended 0-0.

Although Alampasu put in some fine save and showed awareness to pluck crosses, the main star of the show was John Ogu who was commanding as part of a back three comprising of Awaziem and Elderson Echiejile.

Ogu occupied the left side of the three centre backs and dominated Henry Onyekuru and Victor Osimhen in aerial duels, with Ahmed Musa’s pace the only worry he had throughout the session.

His constant barking out of instructions also helped Awaziem who played as his pair in central defence put in a commendable shift, while for the other team Troost-Ekong and Kenneth Omeruo were returned as centre back pairings just like they did against Zambia in Ndola.

from the bold it seems rohr might be looking at the 3-4-3 formation. also looks like john ogu might gate crash the starting XI

tbaba1234:
Kayode deserves his call-up.. It is up to him to continue proving himself.

There are valid arguments against the call-up of Osimhen but we do not know all the variables at play.

That should end the argument.

QED!

wow how time flies you mean it's one year already since his passing on? my fondest memories of keshi as a player was the game against senegal in the 1992 afcon tournament. his earlier mistake had allowed the senegalese to equalize but he made up for it by scoring the winner minutes later and what a cracker it was. not also forgetting his tearful celebration in that cold algerian night after we qualified for the first time for the world cup. as a coach i will forever appreciate him for bringing back pride and respect to the national team by guiding us to that unexpected 2013 afcon win. continue to sleep well BIG BOSS!

Icon4s:
Today , with heavy heart we remember "THE BOSS" who sojourned to the great beyond 365 days ago.

STEPHEN OKECHUKWU KESHI we remember you today and always.

Dear Forumites, I suggest we take today to relish some of our fond memories of Stephen Keshi both and as a player as a coach.

forgiveness:
Wetin concern me with how many goals he scored for the national team?

I am asking, how many goals did he score or how many matches did he play that warrant his call to the national team?


Was Kanu a professional Footballer with regular playing time or a newbies like Osimhen with only 2 or 3 (total 50 minutes) matches of club professional league Football?

I am not interested in those history of yours because it is inconsequential to the debate, why call Osimhen who only played 3 matches with very few minutes to the national team?

dude are you for real? Someone wasn't scoring regularly for the national team for almost 6 years yet he was constantly being invited and you're comfortable with that? Ok o kanu was still up and coming but westerhof called him up how many minutes and how many goals had he scored before he was invited?

goldfish80:
True, Ighalo had 2 prolific seasons in Europe. However, compare a 24 yr old Ighalo vs 24 yr old Kayode, the difference is quite glaring.

About Osimhen, are you honestly saying that you can't list Nigerian strikers in Europe last season who scored a raft of goals while Osimhen played a paltry 41 minutes?

This reminds me how England dropped an inform Premier league winner in Danny Drinkwater and instead went to battle with Jack Wilshere who registered just 141 minutes enroute Euro 2016.
Roy Hudson hung and dried by this decision which ultimately cost him his job.

bro kayode is now in the team. Boss you still haven't named the striker who has been wrongly ignored. Mikel obi because of his transfer saga in 2005 didn't play almost a year of competitive football yet that didn't stop siasia and eguavoen from picking him for the 2005 u20 and 2006 AFCON squads

forgiveness:
Yes! Yekini wasn't an instant hit with the national team (na who tell you that one) yet was an instant hit with his clubs. Na still d same thing I dey talk.

Chinekemeee! You mean Kanu Nwankwo was chopping bench in Iwanyanwu in 1993 and Ajax 1994 before Clement called him?

Abeg! Like your mouth, na lie full am.

what was yekini's goal record between 84 and 89 for the national team? In the build up to USA 94 Nigeria played against Sweden in a friendly kanu featured after the world cup we played against England kanu also played. I'm tired of giving you free history lessons. You claim to be smart the least you could have done was check Google or YouTube before branding me a lie

goldfish80:
Being top scorer in Austria and most scoring Nigerian player in Europe for 2 seasons in a row, all achieved while still under 25yrs, seriously indicate he's a talent who deserves a look in.

ighalo was also prolific for two seasons in championship and EPL. In all this osimhen debate no one has mentioned the player whose destiny he is blocking

well only time can tell if he will become just as good as them. yekini was not an instant hit with the national team but the coaches kept calling him up. kanu fresh off his u17 exploits was invited by westerhof to camp before usa 94. he had barely played professional senior football but clemens saw his potential and wanted to see him up close so brother beg for forgiveness and stop crying wolf where there is none

forgiveness:
You wan compare Osimhen and co situation with those ones?

do4luv14:
my guy take time ooo, nah AJ you dey talk about like dis, you don even reach AJEGUNLE before self,

no lemme start ooo, cos iffa start madam SAFARIGIRL go call am GOLDEN HORSE

bros i gentle o no be me bring the mighty AJ into the matter

forgiveness:
Since, some people claimed that club performance is not necessary once you are talented, I will advise the coaching screw to go to Ajegunle, Aba secondary schools, etc so that he can be spoiled for choice when Rohr sees them 'at close quarters'.

has anybody from ajegunle or aba secondary school won golden boot at u17 world cup? anyway the opinion of coaches who have actually seen him is what matters and not of someone who is doing cry baby because their favourites weren't called up

Mujtahida:
With so much talents popping up I don't think Rohr will do our football good if he just takes hold of what is available now without laying foundation for the future. If he doesn't do that our potential dominance would be shortlived. Why is it so difficult to just fold our arms and watch in this Osimhen issue. What if he turns out good for us? What if not? Both ifs can only be settled when the young man is tested. Their arguments is that at this stage he ought not to be tested at all. Tomorrow beckons, brothers.

exactly! the yekinis, okochas, kanus of before did they just drop and become mainstays in the national team overnight?

forgiveness:
Since, some people claimed that club performance is not necessary once you are talented, I will advise the coaching screw to go to Ajegunle, Aba secondary schools, etc so that he can be spoiled for choice when Rohr sees them 'at close quarters'.

forgiveness:
Since, some people claimed that club performance is not necessary once you are talented, I will advise the coaching screw to go to Ajegunle, Aba secondary schools, etc so that he can be spoiled for choice when Rohr sees them 'at close quarters'.

goldfish80:
You're free to hold whatever belive you want. Its neither my prerogative nor my obligation to change your opinion. You're totally free to hold onto your belive that Osimhen is irreplaceable while I cling to my belive that better talented players are bound in almost every local government across the country.

nobody is irreplaceable not even the great ronaldo or messi if they start posting consistent poor performances. what the goodjoe and other monikers have said is rohr has looked at osimhen and sees something special in the boy. its left for him to prove rohr right or wrong. its not like the boy is blocking the destiny of anybody abi were onyekuru, kayode, muazzem and even odey not called up? whoever you feel wasn't called up now if he continues to impress will get his chance

Joebie:
If you read my logic about limelight in our Orji vs Osimhen argument you will get the point. Even in other spheres of life timing is a big factor.
Osihmen got to limelight after scoring a record 10 goals at the U17 WC. Subsequent coaches ran the rule over him and were very impressed.
Rohr inherited the idea of Osimhen. Watched him in training and was convinced he is a prodigy. The boy has already made a solid impression.
It will take a season of failure for his light to fade. If it bothers you so much that he gets invitation, I'm sorry you are going to be troubled for a long spell, ESPECIALLY when the boy starts showing his stuff in Wolfsburg. Awoniyi kept making the matchday squad and was fielded consistently despite his inability to score in the Eredivisie. It took him a few final games to prove that he is not finished yet. Both NEC coaches were not fools. You can's see what they see by being an internet coach.

spot on! now let me bring the issue of agbim constant selection under keshi. we all rightly doubted his quality but we waited to observe him in some of our matches before we placed a final judgment that he is not super eagles material. i haven't formed an opinion on osimhen yet because i've not seen him in action for the super eagles yet. i think the boy at least deserves the benefit of doubt to prove his quality or lack thereof

i've been following the osimhen debate since the weekend and frankly speaking i don't get all frenzy and hyperventilation over his invitation. rohr the coach has watched him several times in close quarters and by his own judgment he feels the boy has something. all of us unless someone says otherwise don't have coaching badges so what makes us more knowledgeable than the man who has so far been delivering? osimhen is just one player out of 20 plus invites. the other invitees we all for the most part agree are spot on so what's the beef. erickson took walcott to 2006 world cup heaven did not collapse. if we argue that that decision affected england's performance before that tournament the english were poor and have continued to be poor in subsequent competitions. samuel etoo an unknown 17 year old was taken to france 98. cameroon football didn't implode from that decision. coaches take risk in young players all the time some pay off some don't but it's all part of grooming new players. let's view him first before passing judgment on him. as for certain players not being called up instead of using the victim card why not encourage them to continue to work hard churning out impressive performances so the coaches can no longer ignore them. ogu was ignored for so long he's now back in the fold. ikeme wasn't given a second look now our undisputable number 1. if aluko plays for say a crystal palace and proves his quality in the EPL settlement or no settlement he will be called up. same for ajagun. onyekuru, kayode, mikel agu, balogun, ogu among others have through determination and persistent good performances been recognized and invited. yes we know how things operated in the recent past as regards invitation but lets not allow our scepticism to blind us to the fact that we are moving in the right direction

Joebie:
Introduction

This guide is going to look in your central defensive set-ups, and how to achieve a cohesive backline. I will discuss your common central defensive pairing.

Central Pair

You have 3 central defensive roles and 3 central defensive duties to choose from. The roles are as follows:

1. Central Defender
2. Limited Defender
3. Ball Playing Defender

and the duties are as follows:

1. Defend
2. Stopper
3. Cover

The roles are fairly similar in most respects, and defensive distribution is the most significant difference in the roles.

The Limited Defender tends to simply clear the ball as far away from goal as he can - ensures you do not get caught in possession at the back, but it does turn over possession to your opponents quicker and can leave you under sustained pressure. A good idea if your team does not possess the skill to keep hold of the ball in the backline.

The Central Defender will distribute the ball to nearby teammates, helping you keep possession in the backline, and to calmly distribute the ball to the midfield. There is the risk of getting caught in possession at the backline, however it can alleviate pressure on your backline by keeping the ball, and building attacks and distributing the ball to players in the midfield capable of influencing the game in the middle and final thirds.

The Ball Playing Defender will look to influence counter-attacking opportunities by playing through-balls in to players wide of, or in front of himself. He can also help the team maintain possession with his superior passing skills and licence, although he must me fairly creative and a good passer, otherwise you can turn over possession if your player tries overly ambitious passes he is not capable of.

PAIR COMBINATIONS:
1. Central Defender & Central Defender
2. Central Defender & Limited Defender
3. Limited Defender & Limited Defender
4. Ball Playing Defender & Central Defender

You can pair Limited Defenders as they do not affect the balance or overall passing structure as they simply play direct, same with a pair of Central Defenders who simply play a short passing game. The Ball Playing Defender however plays through balls, and due to the increased creativity should generally only be paired with just a simple Central Defender - this is because the Central Defender can help maintain possession at the back, passing to his more creative partner instead of hoofing the ball clear like a Limited Defender and his "safety-first" approach. Having 2 Ball Playing Defenders can see your defenders playing with too much creativity, and attempting too many risky passes.

The duties provide the variation in defensive approach, and these can significantly change the way your defence balances.

The Defend duty is the standard approach, aiming to defend merely as guided by team instructions on marking and pressing, holding the defensive line and winning the ball when appropriate. It is a balance of the 2 "extremes" offered by the Stopper and Cover duties.

The Stopper duty aims to step up early to engage the opposition and quickly win the ball back. This can expose your team and open up space for your opposition, stepping ahead of your defensive line.

The Cover duty will drop off to try and catch any players breaching the defensive line. This can leave your opponents more time and space just in front of your defence unopposed, but it can also prevent your opponents from breaking through without a player to cover and track their runs, reducing their chances of getting a clean shot away in behind.

DUTIES COMBINATIONS:
1. Defend & Defend
2. Stopper & Cover
3. Stopper & Defend
4. Defend & Cover

You can play most combinations of duties in the backline, however most importantly you CANNOT play a pair of Stoppers or a pair of Covering Defenders. The Stoppers will expose too much space in behind, and the Covers will gift too much room in front of the defence, and fail to challenge for the ball often enough. Both pairings can badly expose your Offside Trap too, by either allowing room behind the full back's or behind the centre backs, played onside by the full backs. The Defend-Defend pairing tend to stay in line better and are significantly better for shape retention, and playing an Offside Trap. The Stopper-Cover pairing tends to exaggerate the best qualities of each individual, with an aggressive defender to attack the ball early, reducing room for the opposition forwards, and the covering defender can make up for the aggressiveness of the Stopper with his excellent positioning and pace. The Stopper can make up for the Covering Defender's deeper positioning and sometimes lack of aggression by closing down the space in front of the defence. This pairing can cause problems maintaining the Offside Trap with the Defenders in line, allowing gaps for your opponents to exploit.

ok I think from instructional you pasted you are suggesting that ekong and omeruo are similar in style of play that is they are both 'stoppers' and awaziem who plays like a limited Defender or Central Defender is a better foil for ekong who is in better form than Kenneth. I see your point but I'm not yet sure awaziem is 100 percent ready. Ekong himself he's not that experienced to guide awaziem if he was partnered with Leon I would have no worries but anyway let's see how it goes

ladies and gentlemen you are cordially invited to uyo for the renewal of marriage vows between nigeria and his lovely beau south africa taking place at the nest of champions on june 10 2017. dress code: green with a touch of white and yellow (as per our ebi's family na )

all jokes aside i expect the south africans to give us a game. i don't know how they will file out under coach baxter but if they play as they did under shakes mashaba then it will most definitely not be a walk in the park. they drew with cameroon and burkina faso away before beating senegal at home. we will have to pull out all the stops to beat them. i trust the technical crew to hammer into them the need not to be complacent

Icon4s:
Awaziem and Ekong played CB against Corsica and Togo and that is enough to push out Omeruo who has played that position from 2013 AFCON to 2014 WC qualifeirs and series of other qualifiers.

You may give Awaziem the nod based on other factors but not based on chmemistry with the other CBs.

i concur with your line of thought that omeruo should start alongside ekong. this is a qualifier we are talking about a high stakes game the pressure might get to awaziem but if rohr feels he's ready i'm cool with it. i trust rohr's judgment. although i just remembered kenneth had a stinker against the southies last time we met in uyo so he might not be the safe choice afterall

goldfish80:
I'm not surprised. We know ourselves on this thread

The centre stage was already set with TheGoodJoe, Safarigirl and thesupernerd taking sides with Iheanacho,very predictable lineup. iI think the three of them are friends in real life

micheal2, chrisoblog and edi holding the front for Kylian Lottini. Imagine, I would have been on the same page as Micheal2, what a scary thought.

Icon4s as usual will be a bystander in this sort of debate ( he sounds like a politician sometimes)

Komekn would have given the argument an English/European perspective.

Tbaba1234 will offer a global perspective while being careful not to hurt the feelings of the Iheanacho team.

BascoVanVeli, this one is like weather. He could swing to any side at any moment.

This thread is like a clown bus. With all the characters well represented.

guy you no serious lol wow wow wow what happened overnight Nigerian players making great transfers left right and centre. Onyekuru to arsenal kayode potentially moving to Leverkusen and so on. That's what I'm talking about not our players being linked to clubs in Turkey or eastern Europe that sound like phlegm being expelled from ones mouth or nose

maidaboi:
All of you viewing this thread just say HI
haba just say something now

hi

SSBN:
100 pictures illustrating the Golden Age of Boko Haram and its subsequent Defeat.

All photos (source) : https://defensenigeria./2017/05/07/the-rise-fall-of-boko-haram/

God bless the Brave men and women of the Nigerian Army

as in! was watching him in an interview the other day he was all innit innit bruv bruv. its like the social life and huge weekly wages he is getting has distracted him. he had better figure himself out and not prove to some people that he is a waste pipe

Joebie:
Seriously looking at him during those U17 days, I saw a player with so much hunger. He was progressing well in Spain. It's just my opinion that England is like a dreamland for many of our players. And it's not doing them good. I blame EPL fanaticism. Many of these players were already fans of EPL teams even as kids. They need some objectivity as professionals.

i still think onyekuru needs to refine his game before he heads to england. spain or germany might do him good

Joebie:
Which is why I don't think England should be his next destination. Right now he has a high degree of self-belief, which can plummet easily in England. He is talented no doubt. I can compare him to Messi to some extent. But Messi has that all-round quality -- a great team player.

well either way it doesn't look good for isaac. if its true he is injured then he is building an unwanted reputation as a walking injury waiting to happen while if its true he asked for time off then he's an unserious human being. does anyone know the time of the corsica match?

Joebie:
Let the ANS/OGN media war continue. This is from ANS

Exclusive: Success Withdraws From Togo, RSA Games; Watford Write NFF About Groin Injury
Published: May 26, 2017
Exclusive: Success Withdraws From Togo, RSA Games; Watford Write NFF About Groin InjuryAllnigeriasoccer.com can exclusively report that Watford young star Isaac Success has withdrawn from Nigeria's upcoming international friendly against Togo (June 1) and the African Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa (June 10).

There is no mischief involved in the striker pulling out of the Super Eagles squad as he is currently down with a groin injury he sustained at Watford, and the Nigeria Football Federation are aware of his ailment.

As a result of the groin complaint, Success was conspicuously absent from the match day squads when the Hornets tackled Chelsea and Manchester City in their last two games in the Premier League.

Watford wrote to the Nigeria Football Federation straightaway when Success's name popped up among the invitees for the get-together in Corsica and Paris, demanding that he should be excused.

The former Granada starlet is presently in the United Kingdom but expected to arrive his homeland as from this weekend.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

http://allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=23187

tbaba1234:
Isaac Success on Nigerian National Anthem.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZeIfKVwcrI

Isaac don turn to in it innit boy too o lol glad he has gotten a hair cut that his old hairstyle of his is just horrendous.

I also welcome the idea of employing a 3-5-2 formation as plan B especially in away matches. The formation is not so foreign to us as some of us may think. I remember Philippe trousier using the formation during the qualifiers for France 98

All because the favorite candidate of some people lost election two years ago when everyone including the losers have moved on. The conspiracy theorists like someone suggested are free to partner with niger Delta militants to arrange their own "scam"

nawaa o na education thread be this abi we dey talk super eagles?

question for the house over the years nigeria has produced good sometimes great strikers, midfielders and goalkeepers but not many outstanding defenders. when i say outstanding guys who shine for many years not just two or three plus ones who go on to play for top clubs. apart from taribo and keshi can't remember too many. is it that our coaches can't teach our players how to defend or what?

lol after he has lost form he is now do doing shakara, instead of some of these ex super eagles footballers to be sincere with themselves they will looking for scapegoats for their own turn in fortune. Keshi gave him a chance he impressed in the beginning but faded away and lost his place in the first team. rohr gave him a chance he didn't impress again plus his club career hasn't been earth shattering so what is with all the fake posing

TheSuperNerd:
You know.... I somcerely hope we won't have another report that reads... "Nosa denies saying He is better than all Super Eagles current midfielders..." You know how this thing dey take happen sometimes....
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Nosa Igiebor Quits Super Eagles, Blast Rohr – I’m Better Than Your Midfielders

https://owngoalnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/19C0E8DD-E0C7-4814-8AC8-3339C5B5FDF9-7745-000002AC836154B6.jpeg

Rizespor of Turkey midfielder Nosa Igiebor says he will no longer honour calls to represent Nigeria following the way he was treated by coach Gernot Rohr before the game against Zambia in Ndola.

Igiebor was called up by Rohr for the game against Zambia after a two year absence from the team , but didn’t get to play as Nigeria secured a 2-1 win over Zambia in Ndola in their first World Cup 2018 Qualifiers game.

The former Real Betis midfielder said the Franco-German coach didn’t tell him why he didn’t play in the game, rather the coach played players he feels he is way better than.

” Yes I granted an interview to a radio station in Nigeria, it’s true i’m no longer interested in playing for Nigeria as long as Rohr remains the coach. He disrespected me”, Igiebor told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” He (Rohr) treated me like i’m nobody, I won’t honour any more calls unless if he assures me that I will play. I can’t watch players i’m better than play ahead of me”,


**Ade Emmanuel

Source: http://owngoalnigeria.com/2017/05/05/nosa-igiebor-quits-super-eagles-blast-rohr-im-better-than-your-midfielders/

YEKING my all time best super eagles player

big, strong and deceptively skillful

my favourite goal was the one against the algerians in 1993 world cup qualifier. the second goal i thought he was trying to cross somehow the ball entered from the tightest of angles

Icon4s:
My favorite moments of Rashidi Yekini:

1. Of course Nigeria's first goal at any World Cup (USA '94).The grabbing of that net and chanting what no one has still been able to interpret till date.

others: Maroc '88: Nigeria Vs Kenya. Yekini scored a brace to give Nigeria a brilliant commencement to the tourney.

Tunisia '94: Nigeria Vs Egypt. Egyptian keeper boasted Yekini cannot beat him. It was a tight game. Yekini almost scored a cracker when he took a thunderous shot that hit the upright of the Egytians' net. I will not also forget the brilliant goal he scored against Zaire.

1994 WC qualifiers: Ngr Vs CIV. Yekini scored a brace in Lagos to help Ngr Beat CIV 4-1.

Mickael2:
I remember you said that you wanted Nacho to stay at Man City because you like hearing about nigerians playing for top clubs, so you have seen the light? I just pray GoodJoe sees it too.

The problem with this particular setup is that we can't possibly be using a bench warmer as our top striker. Forget this talk, Nacho is losing it and Iwobi too is losing it, we can't possibly play both of them against a top opposition. Nacho was missing easy chances against Senegal then he tucked home a penalty and we played out a draw but since it was just a friendly we all kept quiet, if the same thing happens against SA only then we will start complaining

in an ideal situation i would have wanted KC to stay at city because i felt this is just his second full season as a player needing more time to mature and improve. that was however predicated on situation that pep give him ample playing time to learn, make mistakes and improve as a player. i think this is the point of disagreement with goodjoe what's the point learning ''drills'' if you wont allow him execute what he has learnt. take sane for example understandably he didn't make the first team he was introduced gradually as he got better. now that he is a first team starter he still has lots to learn but pep is giving him a fair run of games to establish himself same with sterling who hasn't done anything special to warrant pep constantly starting him. as all the members in the house have said in different ways we pray his handlers find him a good club to get back his confidence cos world cup is around the corner and guardiola clearly has no plans for him.
i watched KC's performance against senegal to be sincere i was fairly satisfied with his goal. yes he missed some chances which happens to any good striker but overall he pestered the senegalese defence all night which was no small feat considering the huge opponents he was up against. the boy will be just ok under rohr who will take care and bring out the best in him. that said the technical crew have to find more striking options to ensure more competition in the super eagles